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28 September 2011 11 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Hikaru no Go Giveaway

Another month has passed, which means its time for another manga giveaway! This month’s giveaway is a new copy of Hikaru no Go, Volume 1 written by Yumi Hotta, illustrated by Takeshi Obata, and published by Viz Media. The contest is open world-wide, and Hikaru no Go is a fantastic series, so I hope you’ll take the time to enter!

Often, I read a manga because I’m already interested in what it’s about. Occasionally, it happens the other way around and I become interested in something because of the manga I read. Such is the case with Hikaru no Go. I don’t even remember why I first picked it up, but I loved it from the very first volume. One of the great things about Hikaru no Go is that even if you are completely unfamiliar with the game of Go, the series is still enjoyable. But, much like the titular character, I discovered that the more I read, the more I wanted to know about Go. And so I learned how to play. I’m pretty terrible at it, and I don’t get to play very often, but it’s mostly thanks to Hikaru no Go that I picked up the game in the first place.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win Hikaru no Go, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me about a manga that has inspired you to try a new hobby or become interested in a subject that you weren’t familiar with before. Or maybe you’ve never had that experience? You can simply mention that.
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

You can earn up to two entries in this giveaway and you have one week to get your comments in. If you have any trouble leaving comments, or if you would prefer, you can e-mail your entry to me at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will post it. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on October 5, 2011. Good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Hikaru no Go Winner

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7 September 2011 4 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Joy of Josei Winner

And the winner of the Joy of Josei manga giveaway is…!

As the winner, will be receiving a brand new copy of Yumi Unita’s Bunny Drop, Volume 1 as published by Yen Press. There was a great turnout for the contest this month, which made me very happy. A huge thank you to everyone who entered! For the giveaway, I had people name their favorite josei manga if they had one, however they decided to define the term (please see the comments for individual responses.) Josei is more of a demographic rather than a genre and depending on how technical you want to get with the definition, you’ll end up with different lists.

And speaking of lists, here’s what we all came up with for favorite and recommended josei and josei-esque manga licensed in English. Please enjoy!

All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga
Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga
Baby and Me by Marimo Ragawa
Blue by Nananan Kiriko
A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori
Bunny Drop by Yumi Unita
Crown of Love by Yun Kouga
The Embalmer by Mitsukazu Mihara
Emma by Kaoru Mori
Happy Mania by Moyoko Anno
Honey and Clover by Chica Umino
Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs by Yukiya Sakuragi
Kaze Hikaru by Taeko Watanabe
Nana by Ai Yazawa
Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! by Fumi Yoshinaga
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga
Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa
Ristorante Paradiso by Natsume Ono
Suppli by Mari Okizaki
Tramps Like Us by Yayoi Ogawa
With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe

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31 August 2011 13 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Joy of Josei (Bunny Drop Giveaway)

During last month’s manga giveaway, I mentioned that I was considering moving away from a monthly contest to holding a contest every other month. Fortunately for you all, someone encouraged me to continue with the monthly giveaways. And so here we are! This month’s manga giveaway is for a brand new copy of the first volume of Yumi Unita’s Bunny Drop as published by Yen Press. The contest is open world-wide!

Josei manga—manga that is created with an adult female audience in mind although it appeals to a broader readership—is probably some of the most under-appreciated manga in the United States market. Very few josei manga are actually marketed as such in the States. A (relatively) recent Manga Out Loud podcast focused on this issue: The Plight of Josei. Some of my favorite manga, such as Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, happen to be josei. Bunny Drop is another josei series that I am quite fond of so far. The series was nominated for a 2011 Eisner Award, had a live action adaptation released in Japan this month, and the anime version is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. The first few volumes of the manga are utterly delightful; Bunny Drop was one of my favorite series to be released in English last year and I almost didn’t pick it up.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win Bunny Drop, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me about your favorite josei manga (however you want to define the term, I’m not going to be picky or get caught up in technicalities), or if you’ve never read josei before just mention that.
2) In addition, you can simply mention a josei title that hasn’t been mentioned yet by me or by someone else on this post.
3) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

Each person is eligible to earn up to three entries for this giveaway. As usual, you’ll have one week to get your comments in. If you have any trouble leaving comments, or if you would prefer, feel free to e-mail me your entry at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I’ll make sure they get posted. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on September 6, 2011.

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Joy of Josei Winner

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3 August 2011 2 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Ghost Talker’s Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the Ghost Talker’s Giveaway is…beckafly!

As the winner, beckafly will be receiving a brand new copy of the first volume of Ghost Talker’s Daydream written by Saki Okuse, illustrated by Sankichi Meguro, and published by Dark Horse. For this giveaway we talked about manga with absurd premises. Normally, I would just refer you to the Ghost Talker’s Giveaway comments, but since there were so few entries this time around I’ve decided to include them in this post.

Now, on to some ridiculous manga!

Justin shares some thoughts on Shinji Saijyo’s Iron Wok Jan which can get pretty crazy indeed:

Ooh, this is interesting. I haven’t read too many out of bounds manga, but one that did get me was Iron Wok Jan—the amount of sheer ridiculousness of the products they get cooked (Whether it was just normal fried rice to custard soup with sheep brains), and how precise everything had to be that made it taste good, and addition to the cast of characters who are sometimes annoyingly stubborn, I was mystified yet entertained at the same time^^ Would love to see this manga in print again, but alas…

beckafly’s favorite absurd manga is X-Day by Setona Mizushiro and specifically mentions the side story “The Last Supper”:

My favorite absurd manga has to be [X-Day].There’s a side story in there where farm animals become people and are used for medicine. The actual story is kind of normal except for the blowing up the school bit.

phoenixphire24 mentions Takashi Hashiguchi’s Yakitate!! Japan. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve been meaning to give it a try:

My favorite ridiculous manga premise is for one of my favorite manga: Yakitate Japan. People that use their skills as bakers to fight in competitions with bread. And their bread can do crazy things to the judges, like transform them. And everything is a pun. Damn, I love that manga.

And there you have it! Some potentially absurd manga worth tracking down.

Also, a heads up: I’m thinking about moving from a monthly giveaway to a giveaway every other month. I haven’t decided yet, though. If you care one way or the other, please let me know!

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27 July 2011 4 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Ghost Talker’s Giveaway

The end of July is fast approaching, meaning it’s time for another manga giveaway! This month you all will have a chance to win a brand new copy of Saki Okuse and Sankichi Meguro’s Ghost Talker’s Daydream, Volume 1, published by Dark Horse. It’s a mature title (it even comes shrink-wrapped), so please only enter if you are over the age of eighteen! And, as always, the giveaway is open world-wide.

Occasionally, I come across a manga that has a setup that just seems so strange and bizarre that I can’t pass up the opportunity to give it a try. One such manga is Ghost Talker’s Daydream. The series features a protagonist that works as a dominatrix and a sex writer in addition to being employed as a necromancer and dealing with ghosts. Oh yeah, and she’s also an albino. Taken separately, these elements aren’t all that unusual, but put them together and they make a somewhat odd premise for a manga. I had to read it. Another manga that I had a similar reaction to after learning about it was Nanae Chrono’s Vassalord. Gay cyborg vampire working as a mercenary for the Vatican who wants to be a priest? Sign me up. Sometimes these outrageous sounding manga fail miserably while at other times the creators manage to pull off sometime fantastic and unique.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Ghost Talker’s Daydream, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about a manga, good or bad, that sounds utterly absurd and ridiculous when you try to describe it to someone (and that hasn’t been mentioned yet.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

You may earn up to two entries for this giveaway and there’s only one week to get your comments in. If you have trouble leaving comments, feel free to e-mail me at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I’ll make sure they get posted. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on August 3, 2011.

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Ghost Talker’s Giveaway Winner

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